


The Break Up

by TAG_Fic_Anon



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, F/M, New Relationship, Post-Break Up, Running Into Your Ex, Scott Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 03:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14947089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TAG_Fic_Anon/pseuds/TAG_Fic_Anon
Summary: When Scott Tracy cheated on his fiancee it was the worst mistake he made in his life. Five years later he runs into Lady Penelope again, in the most unexpected of places.





	The Break Up

Of all the people Scott expected to run into outside his father’s office, his ex-fiancee wasn’t one of them.

 

“Penny?” he says, still not quite believing it until she turns around and looks like she wants to be anywhere but here. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I have-” She starts to speak, but then stops and in the same moment they both remember that there’s no reason for her to owe him any kind of explanation. “How’s your son?” she asks instead, and he knows the only reason she’s asking is to make sure he remembers that she doesn’t belong to him anymore.

 

“Um… yeah,” Scott says, shuffling awkwardly in his seat, “Yeah, he’s doing great. He’s starting school in a couple of months, well, not  _ school _ exactly, it’s kinda like a long term Kindergarten thing til they’re like seven in Sweden.”

 

“So he’s living with his mother full time now?” He can hear the smugness in her voice, how she’s pleased that he doesn’t have the one thing he always said he wanted. If she were anyone else he’d be mad, but she wanted the same things as him, and it’s his fault that neither of them have it.

 

“Yeah…” he says, “Lina decided that would be for the best… he visits… I visit him… Actually that’s where I’ve been for the summer… we manage…” He shrugs as he trails off, almost like it’s the first time it’s dawned on him how drastically different his life is now from how he pictured it five years ago when he got down on one knee for Penny.

 

He clears his throat and forces himself to look up at her where she’s standing across from him. It feels almost karmic, the way that for once she’s above him, looking down.

 

She looks incredible, her hair is a slightly darker blonde, shorter, falling in soft waves instead of curls, her face is a little fuller too. She’s tanned and she stands taller now. More confident. But there’s something else too, something he can’t put his finger on as he looks her up and down in her trendy shirtdress and low wedges.

 

“You look good” he says,

 

“I know” she says.

 

“So how are you doing?” he asks, floundering slightly for conversation.

 

“Fine.” She’s not going to help him with this small talk. Scott decides that the best thing to do is just get everything off his chest.

 

“Penny, I- I’m sorry. If I could undo it I would.” He shakes his head and looks down at his feet again. He’s always regretted their breakup, but seeing her now, it just drives home what a mistake he made. “If there’s any way I could fix it, any way for me to make it up to you and win you back-”

 

“I’m pregnant,” Penelope says.

 

Scott looks up at her again as she brings her left hand around to press her dress to the small bump of her belly. There’s a tasteful pair of rings on her finger, a princess cut diamond set in platinum, held in place by a plain gold band. 

 

“It wasn’t planned, but we’re happy” Penny continues, “We got married last month.”

 

Scott knows he should say something, but he’s stunned silent and then the office door opens and there’s his father, smiling happily.

 

“There you are! I thought you got lost between Diana’s desk and mine,” Jeff laughs, and it takes Scott a second to realise that Jeff is talking to Penny, not him.

 

Jeff closes the gap between himself and Penny and there is a relaxed familiarity in the way he wraps an arm around Penny’s waist, bends his head to hers. 

 

Scott never finds out where Jeff’s kiss intended to go. Penelope tenses up and deliberately turns her face away from him.

 

“Yes I was just talking to Scott,” she says, the brightness in her voice forced.

 

Jeff freezes, looks back over his shoulder at his eldest son.

 

“Well hello Scooter, I didn’t see you there.”

 

It’s Jeff’s attempt to be casual that finally snaps Scott out of his stunned silence.

 

“What the fuck?” he says

 

“Scott!”   
  
“No Dad, seriously, what the fuck?” he stands up, overwhelmed by the appalling sense of betrayal he feels. He looks between his father and Penelope who looks like she wants the ground to simply swallow her up. “Is this your idea of revenge?” Scott demands, “I screwed you over so you screw my dad?”

 

Penny’s shame quickly flushes to anger,

 

“If I wanted revenge I wouldn’t have waited five years!” she snaps, “My life doesn’t revolve around you Scott, no matter how much you expected it to.”

 

As Scott opens his mouth to fire back Jeff steps between the two of them, tall and protective of his new wife.

 

“I really don’t think you have any right to be yelling at Penelope, do you Scott?” he says calmly, putting on his Patriarch voice, but that doesn’t work on Scott now, not anymore. You need respect to obey that voice.

 

“You’re right, it’s you I should be mad at,” Scott spits, “After all your damn lectures about my lack of decency and respect-”

 

“Oh please!” Jeff cuts his son off, “We all know you think the rules of decency don’t apply to you so why should you be protected by them?”

 

Scott sets his jaw and nods,

 

“You know what? Fine. Maybe I deserve this, and maybe you two deserve each other.” He grabs his jacket from his seat, shrugging it on as he makes his way back towards the elevator, “And I hope you’re happy together, I really do. But Dad? If you think that this kid is a chance to make up for what a disappointment I was, just remember that I was an accident too.”

 

*

 

Penny tries to soothe the anxious kicking in her belly as Jeff turns back into his office once Scott is gone. 

 

“What are you doing?” she asks as he picks up the phone.

 

“Calling Virgil and telling him to pretend he didn’t know,” Jeff explains as he dials, “The boys don’t deserve to get chewed out by Scott just because he’s mad at me. Then lunch sweetheart, I promise. We’ll still have a nice day.”

 

He winks at her and she smiles, rubbing her belly again as she reminds herself that he still has four other kind and wonderful boys. Scott is the anomaly in this family that has welcomed her so readily. Her baby will be fine, her baby will be like it’s father.


End file.
